For students in the University of Washington’s Berman Environmental Law Clinic, being in law school may be a walk in the park, but only if it’s to gather data for an environmental impact statement (EIS). Whether they are testifying at city council meetings, filing briefs in the Ninth Circuit, collaborating with various project stakeholders or taking on one of the world’s largest oil companies, none of the clinic students would say their law school experience has been a “walk in the park.”
For example, earlier this year, Berman Clinic students represented a citizens group in Kenmore who opposed the city’s proposed zoning changes that could impact St. Edward State Park. Law student Ashley Peck testified during a public meeting on the proposed zoning changes on behalf of the group — a change supported by the Parks Commission. In what local citizens described as a “masterful performance,” Peck turned the tide of opinion by methodically walking the Kenmore City Council through the language of the proposed ordinance, the applicable state laws and the city’s authority. The City Council rejected the Parks Department’s request for a zoning change with one council member going so far as to suggest that the Council suspend the matter altogether until it had time to consult with the clinic.
Funded by a gift from Steve and Kathy Berman, the clinic has a mission to prepare students to become knowledgeable legal advocates for the Pacific Northwest’s unique environmental concerns. If the mission sounds broad, it’s because the work of the clinic includes all aspects of environmental and natural resources law.
“The driving force behind the clinic comes from Kathy’s and my appreciation of the natural resources we are blessed with here in the Northwest and our desire to preserve those for our children and generations to come,” said Steve Berman, founder and managing partner of the Seattle-based firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.
The clinic’s work can be complicated and challenging, but also rewarding, said law student Joe Shaughnessy. In February, Shaughnessy was busy drafting state legislation at the request of a client and a state legislator.
“In drafting this legislation, we were trying to anticipate the ramifications and unintended consequences of regulating a particular area,” said Shaugh-nessy. “The clients’ goals are very specific. Our job is to be faithful to those goals, while still accounting for all the other interests and potential conflicts. It’s been an interesting balancing act.”
“In law school, students read many cases and less frequently they read statutes. Seldom do they draft the legislation that leads to the statutes,” said U.W. Law Professor and Berman Clinic Director Michael Robinson-Dorn. “It’s easy to sit in class, critique a piece of legislation and say it’s horrible, but it’s a different experience to draft the legislation yourself.”
Shaughnessy said his perspective was enhanced by his recent experience litigating another matter in the Ninth Circuit. “In drafting this legislation, I’m aware that others may end up arguing about what the statute means. We are trying to anticipate and iron out problems with legal language ahead of time.”
It’s that type of hands-on experience the Berman Clinic provides that has made it one of the most popular clinics at the law school. Law students Nathan Phillips and Rob Hatfield represented an environmental group who, concerned with wastes being discharged into the Puget Sound by visiting cruise ships, asked the Port to strengthen pollution protections. The Port recently agreed to bolster air and water quality protections on a $120 million cruise and container terminal project.
“It was really satisfying being a part of a process in helping change the way the decisions are made,” said Phillips.
The impact of the clinic’s work can be felt far from the Puget Sound. Two years ago, U.W. Law Professor Bill Rodgers challenged his environmental law class to examine a little-known clause in the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement that would allow Alaska and federal government agencies to seek an additional $100 million. The clause, known as the “reopener,” provided that the additional money could be sought for damages that were unforeseen or unknown at the time of the settlement.
Students and faculty in the Berman Clinic traveled to Alaska to inspect the spill zone and meet with members of native tribes and others still affected by the spill. In early May 2006, several native Alaska tribes and organizations filed a petition drafted by the clinic. The petition called for the federal government to consult with the tribes and organizations on the question of whether the United States would pursue all or a portion of the reopener funds.
Faculty and students at the law school were “thrilled” when the Department of Justice and State of Alaska announced a month later that they would seek an additional $92 million from ExxonMobil Corp. That decision, Robinson-Dorn points out, came not as a result of litigating in court, but from working as part of a team to analyze legal issues, access and understand complex scientific studies, and take action in the public interest.
“People think of clinics as just litigating cases and we certainly do that,” said Robinson-Dorn. “But, legal practice involves so much more. And if our students leave here with only one thing, I hope it will be that the law is a public calling and that their job is to help solve problems creatively on behalf of their clients. The Berman clinic provides that experience.”
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